Social media is a rich resource for allowing individuals all over the globe to interact with one another in many different ways. Chat, forums, discussion boards, newsfeeds and comments all play a role in the exchange of information and ideas that social media has made possible. With this being said it is no wonder that there is a week dedicated to this form of media.
The week of September the 19th through the 23rd is Social Media Week. This event is not simply an online phenomenon but there are events happening live all over the world. These events are happening in 12 major cities: Beirut, Berlin, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Glasgow, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Vancouver. So as you can see it really is a global happening.
Having these live events gives people a real chance to actually interact with the individuals who run, create, and use social media every day. These events are even sponsored by the social media companies themselves. The main sponsor is Nokia but companies like Fast Company and CNNiReport are in on the action as well. These companies will be giving talks and interactive demonstrations on the latest and greatest in social media technology.
If you do not live near one of these cites you need not worry. It is a social media event and thus has tons of social media ways to interact as well. The main source is the website for the week itself is http://socialmediaweek.org/. Here you can read news, get updates on the events of the week, and watch live streaming from the weeks lectures, interviews with the speakers themselves and much more. This site also gives you a chance to get involved in year round events involving social media and connect with other like minded people via the organizations twitter accounts and face book pages.
Year round this site and its social media counterparts gives updates and great information about the happenings and advances in social media around the world. It is a great place to really take the pulse of the industry and feel out new trends for yourself, really get to know and see if it is right for you and your business.